Why The 8 Biggest Criticisms Of Christopher Nolan Are Wrong

5. The Films Are Too Serious

The Criticism: Christopher Nolan movies take themselves seriously. It's just one of those universal truths. Whether it's Tesla-invented cloning or a man in a bat suit jumping off rooftops there's no consideration for embracing the silly side of the ideas. And, in the eyes of some, this is all taken a bit too far. The Defence: Are people's problems with the seriousness of Nolan's films actually to do with the content of his movies, or the effect they've had on wider Hollywood? Things were already taking a turn away from the earnest camp of nineties in the early 21st Century, but his films, particularly The Dark Knight, opened up Hollywood's eyes to the beauty of realism, beginning a period where every movie, no matter the source, went all brooding. And while that doesn't really work for, say, Superman or Alice In Wonderland, it does in Nolan's films. He understands how to provide enough justification for the down-to-Earth feel so that it's palatable, with it only really possible to find too serious if you go in expecting The Avengers. There are some downsides to this effect, making it hard for some people to swallow the more extravagant elements in certain films, but really they should highlight that we're not entering Mallick levels of self-sincerity.